Amusement apparatus



J. H. BUTCHER.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, I919.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

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J,- H. BUTCHER AMUSEMENT APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 14,1919.

1,337,820. Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

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JAMESI-I. BUTCIHISIR, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

Application filed July 14, 1919. Serial No. 310,531;

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J AMES H. BUTCHER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county ofJefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Amusement Apparatus, of which the following is aspecifioation.

The obje t of the invention is to provide a novel amusement apparatusdesigned to embody the general principles of operation and movement ofaeroplanes in the form of a merry-go-round or razzle-dazzle, therelations between parts being such as to provide for a relatively widerange of'modification in the plan and general form of the track orsimilar guiding means, so as to produce the variety necessary to rendersuch devices interesting to the pleasure seeking public, and to this endthe invention consists in a construction and combination of parts ofwhich a preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, it being understood that changes in form and proportion may beresorted to, within the scope of the appended claims without departingfrom the principles involved.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view on the plane indicated by the line3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail section on the plane in dicated by the line ll ofFig.1.

In the illustrated construction there is employed a track 10 ofelliptical form disposed on an inclined plane, although it will beunderstood that both as to form and construction the track issusceptible to modification, supported by a frame work consisting forexample of the uprights 11, base timbers 12 and braces 13, the latterbeing attached at their upper ends to a bearing collar 14 through whichextends a vertical drive shaft 15 stepped as at 16 in a bearing block inthe base of the frame. The rotary motion may be communicated to thedrive shaft by means of an operating shaft 17 having bevel pinion 18meshing with gear 19, and at its upper end the drive shaft carries theupper and lower spaced tables 20 and 21 with which are connected theinner ends of radial car supporting elements 22 and 23, the cars 24preferably being constructed as shown to represent aeroplanes and beingdesigned to follow orbital paths corresponding in plan andinclination'with and outside of the track 10. In the constructionillustrated the car supporting elements consist of rods 01' bars ofsuilicient tensile and transverse strength to support the weight of thecar and any reasonable load which may be imposed thereon, said rodsbeing connected at their inner ends to the tables 20 and 21 by means oflinks 25 and 26 which are hinged to the tables and are adapted to swingoutward at the ends connected with the rods as the cars follow the pathdefined by the track, the lower supporting elements having mountedthereon flange guide rolls 27 which traverse the track in orbitalmovements of the cars and preserve a uniform distance between the carsand the track. Obviously as the track recedes from the axis of movementor approaches the major diameter of the ellipse, when the track is ofthe form illustrated, the links swing outward to a position approachingor in alinement with the rods forming the body portions of the arms, andif, as indicated, the track is disposed on an inclination, the links arefree to swing upward as the guide rolls traverse the elevated portion ofthe track as indicated in the side view in Fig. 2. The upper carsupporting elements constitute braces offering a tensile resistance tothe displacement of the cars while serving to steady the same while thelower supporting arms serve to maintain the cars in a substantiallyhorizontal position.

In order that the propellers indicated at 27 may receive rotary movementin simulation of the propellers of aeroplanes, the spindles 28 thereofmay be geared as at 29 to encounter shafts 30 having pinions 31 meshingwith pinions 32 carried by the guide rolls 27, suitable supporting meansbeing provided in connection with the rods 23 and the hubs of said rollsto maintain said gears in proper relation.

From the description it will be seen that in addition to the rotary andorbital movement of the cars around an axis rotated by the drive shaft,they will receive a down movement due to the modification in thealtitude, and thus, supplemented by the rotation of the propellers willgive to the occupants of the cars the general impression and sensationof aeroplane travel which 7 may be changed in its particularcharacteristics to render the movement of the cars more or less erraticmerely by a modification in the disposition of shifting of the trackwhich serves as the means for determining the path of movement of thetinuous elliptical track, a rotary shaft, cars having radial supportingelements connected at their inner ends with the shaft and provided atintermediate points with rolls traversing the track, the: car supporting7 means being extensible to permit of the cars deseriblng an orbitalpath defined by the g g I r the latter are provided with rolls totraverse track. 7 7

2. An amusement device having a track, a central rotary shaft, theformer being disposed at an inclination to the latter, cars havingradial supporting elements provided at intermediate points with rolls totraverse the track, said supporting elements being connected at theirinner ends with the shaft by means of links disposed in vertical 'whichthe latter is provided with rolls to traverse the track, upper and lowertables carried by the shaft and links connecting the inner ends of saidupper and lower elements with said tables and. mounted to swing invertical planes. I

at. An amusement device having vertical driving shaft and a continuoustrack, cars having supporting means each consisting of upper and lowerradial members of which thetrack, upper and lower tablesf carried by theshaft, pivotal links connecting the upper and lower tables with saidupper and lower members, propellers carried by the cars and connectionsbetween saidrolls and propellers. r

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature.

JAMES H. BUTC ER.

